The look of joy on Boris Herrmann’s face at the end of his first solo run with the new “Malizia 4” spoke volumes. This wasn’t just down to having completed the qualifying round for the solo performance in November that has already been announced at the Route du Rhum, which he has now clocked up. It was also his first experience of sailing solo in the boat, which was practically brand new. On 25 July, following his initial tests and training sessions, he set sail solo for the first time. He has now clocked up the required 1,200 solo miles.
Breathless on the Atlantic: Boris Herrmann on ‘Malizia 4’
Boris Herrmann completed the qualifying round on “Malizia 4” in the Celtic Sea, the area between the south coast of Ireland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. The solo voyage with the Imoca, which is barely a month old According to Team Malizia, the voyage went “smoothly” and the boat sailed “excellently”. After reaching Fastnet Rock on the south-western tip of Ireland, the skipper headed back to Lorient almost as if on a weekend trip, where he moored again on Monday morning. Official confirmation from the Route du Rhum organisers arrived just a few days later.
Boris Herrmanns has now been officially entered for his third appearance in the French classic, which will take his rivals from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe as winter sets in. This year, solo sailors will compete in six classes: Class40, Ocean Fifty, Imoca and Ultim, as well as the Vintage Multi and Vintage Mono divisions. The race, officially named Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2026, starts on 1 November in France and crosses the Atlantic to Pointe-à-Pitre on the French Caribbean island.
It will be a particularly exciting test for Boris Herrmann, as this classic race – which has been held since 1978 – will mark the two-time Vendée Globe finisher’s first solo regatta, coming shortly after the Ocean Race Atlantic team race from New York to Lorient, which begins on 1 September. Before that, however, the Ocean Race Atlantic will be his first team regatta. Boris Herrmann, Julien Villion, Justine Mettraux and Cole Brauer will set sail from New York on 1 September.
Will Harris to make his solo debut in an Imoca car
Co-skipper Will Harris will compete in the Ocean Race Atlantic with Francesca Clapcich’s crew on “11th Hour Racing” before returning to Team Malizia. In the meantime, Boris Herrmann’s long-standing co-skipper has just completed his first IMOCA solo race. Like Boris Herrmann before him, he sailed the new “Malizia 4”, which has been put through its paces almost non-stop since its launch on 6 July.
Will Harris also rose to the challenge admirably, having tackled it with the benefit of years of IMOCA experience. Harris had previously competed in The Ocean Race 2023 with Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia, also on an IMOCA, as well as taking part three times in the Transat Jacques Vabre, which is now known by its new name, the Transat Café L’Or.
The weather expert from Team Malizia also had solo experience on smaller foiling boats under his belt when he set sail alone on the new “Malizia 4”. The opportunity to undertake this long-awaited solo venture had come as a surprise to Will Harris. Boris Herrmann had asked his closest sailing companion about a week earlier if he would like to set sail on the boat on his own.
The long-awaited opportunity for the Malizia evergreen
Will Harris spoke candidly: “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this at all. I was very nervous at the start. I’ve already covered so many nautical miles around the world, both with crews and as a pair. I’ve also done a lot of solo sailing on Figaros and small boats. But I’ve never sailed alone on such a big boat before.”
Harris had set off on 7 August to sail overnight some 300 nautical miles off the coast of Brittany. As one might expect on a first solo night aboard an IMOCA, he barely slept. The Briton spent most of the night in the cockpit, leaving his berth untouched and allowing himself only a few minutes’ rest now and then. His main concern was keeping a lookout for fishing boats, buoys and anything else he might collide with whilst sailing single-handed.
Harris had set off on 7 August to sail overnight some 300 nautical miles off the coast of Brittany. As one might expect on a first solo night aboard an IMOCA, he barely slept. The Briton spent most of the night in the cockpit, leaving his berth untouched and allowing himself only a few minutes’ rest now and then. His main concern was keeping a lookout for fishing boats, buoys and anything else he might collide with whilst alone on the boat.
“When you’re sailing solo, you must never forget that you’re the only one on the boat and responsible for everything. That’s the challenge, but that’s exactly what I loved so much about it.” Will Harris
His hopes were confirmed out at sea. After his solo voyage on Boris Herrmann’s ‘Neuer’, he reported enthusiastically: “Once I was actually out there, I absolutely loved it. Just being alone on the boat is a completely different feeling to being part of a crew. You’re simply at one with the ocean. I love that challenge and that feeling more than anything! It’s always been my dream to sail the Vendée Globe one day. But I think I had to prove it to myself first with my first solo night at sea.”
A dream come true and a loyal partner for Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia
Will Harris was given this opportunity by Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia because they had all previously managed, together, to tick off the long list of targets they had set for the period following the launch. For Will Harris, this has made a dream come true and marked a new milestone. He said: “I am incredibly grateful to Boris and the team for giving me this opportunity.”
On land, too, there was good news for Boris Herrmann’s racing team to mark its tenth anniversary: Team Malizia and its partner Schütz have extended their partnership for a further five years. The company has been supporting the offshore team for five years as an official equipment supplier and technical partner and will continue the partnership until 2030. With this boost, “Malizia 4” and her transfer crew will set off for New York on Wednesday at 11 am.
Will Harris will be skippering the transfer; he is due to join “11th Hour Racing” in New York. Joined by him, Julien Villion, Justine Mettraux, Cole Brauer and Loïs Berrehar are steering “Malizia 4” towards the Big Apple, where three IMOCs – “DMG Mori Global One”, “Embrace the Challenge” and “11th Hour Racing” – have already arrived. The other three – “MSIG Europe”, “United by the Ocean” and “Malizia 4” – will follow later this week. Click here for the tracker for the challengers’ transatlantic crossings in the new Ocean Race Atlantic, which starts on 1 September in New York.
The YACHT TV film about the new “Malizia 4”, which will soon be put to the test in the new Ocean Race Atlantic and the Route du Rhum:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter